The massive Tiger tank was planned to be in service for the Battle of ElAlamein. Technical problems delayed its arrival in North Africa until laterin the year when they were shipped to Tunisia to fight there. They foughtalongside the Afrika Korps in the Battle of Kasserine Pass.

Afrika KorpsThe German Afrika Korps is a hard-fighting force of tough veteran troops who have won many battles and expect to win many more. Their Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks outclass the British tanks they face, and have been steadily upgraded to maintain their edge over the opposition. Their infantry are organised to have ‘few men, many weapons’, so they pack a ferocious punch whether facing infantry or tanks. These are backed by the famous ‘88’ dual-purpose anti-tank/anti-aircraft gun and the Stuka dive bomber.

The Tiger first underwent development when specifications for a new heavy tank were sent out to various manufacturers. It was to mount a gun that penetrated 100mm of armour at a 1500m and also be able to withstand return fire from similar weapons. Henschel developed the VK3601, but this design was to have a squeeze bore weapon, which had to be abandoned due to the lack of an adequate supply of tungsten for the ammunition. The VK3601 was quickly adapted to mount the 8.8cm KwK36 gun, which had already made itself famous in the anti-tank role as the FlaK 36.

The order to start the final design was issued on 26 May 1941. Henschel was to develop the chassis while Krupp developed the turret. Porsche’s version was also still under development and Krupp was also to provide the turret for this. Rheinmetall also developed a turret mounting the 7.5cm KwK L/70 gun (later to become famous as the Panther’s gun) but this was abandoned in favour of the 8.8cm mounts.

The Production model Henschel Tiger I E had 100mm of front armour on both its hull and turret, 80mm on its rear and sides, and 25mm of top armour. None of the armour was particularly well sloped, but it had lots of it. It 8.8cm gun had already proved itself in combat as a lethal anti-armour weapon.

The first Tigers issued went to the newly assembled men of 502nd Schwere Panzerabteilung, who were quickly sent to the Leningrad front in August 1942. Tigers also made an appearance in North Africa in late 1942, much to the disturbance of the allied soldiers who ran into them, many of the legends surrounding the Tiger spring from these first encounters.

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Plastic Tiger (8.8cm) Sprue(x2)

Plastic Tank Commander Sprue(x1)

Decal Sheet(x1)

Unit Card Tiger Heavy Tank Platoon(x1)

Boot Camp Battle ReportAfrika Korps vs. Desert RatsTo conclude the lessons laid out in the 4th Edition Boot Camp, Phil and James put the theory into practice by playing a 62-point game using the Free For All mission.